A small-town Kentucky mayor did not hold back when posting on a county neighborhood Facebook group, telling followers that the coronavirus is a 'serious ordeal' and criticizing those who are not taking the pandemic seriously.Walton in Boone County, Kentucky is a town of just 3,600 people, but Mayor Gabe Brown gained far more fans than that when he posted his strongly-worded rant to the wider county community Facebook page, which gained national attention. The post has been shared by more than 2,300 people, and a single tweet showing images from his Facebook post got 1,100 likes alone.

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Mayor Gabe Brown of Walton, Kentucky posted a strongly worded Facebook post urging people to take the coronavirus and social distancing seriously

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Mayor Brown is known by his supporters as being quite a character. He was elected unopposed in November 2018'Listen up dipsh*ts and sensible people,' he wrote, clearly frustrated by the county's apathy towards the coronavirus outbreak. 'I might not have the best bedside manor. I might not put you at ease like the Governor does, but I don’t care. 'You need to realize that this is a serious ordeal. In fact, it’s a big f**cking deal. Stay at home.'In his post, he explained that he is taking at least three calls a day about Covid-19, and therefore has more information than many of the county's residents do about the virus.

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The post has been shared on Facebook more than 2,300 times and many times on Twitter

He told followers to take the virus more seriously than they have been, and act like they have it in order to not spread it to others.Warning of the consequences if they don't heed his advice, the Mayor wrote: 'More cases are coming. If you ignore this problem, the worst thing that could happen is that your mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles could die.'Reacting to his post in Twitter, one user wrote: 'Love this! Go Mayor Gabe Brown!', while another wrote 'I think we have a new "America's Mayor."'Another commented that they liked how he signed of his message, tweeting: 'I really like "warmest regards" at the end.'

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People on Twitter react to the Mayor's Facebook post, cheering him onHis town of Walton lies across both Boone county and Kenton County in Kentucky. Kenton County has been one of the areas hit heaviest in the state with eleven confirmed cases, according to the Northern Kentucky Health Department.

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Walton is a small town in Boone Country, Kentucky with just over 3,600 residents

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Boone County's Governor, Andy Beshear, has also gained praise during the crisis for his calm and measured daily news briefings on the coronavirus[size=18]KY resident tests positive for COVID-19 after coronavirus party

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In contrast to the language used by Mayor Brown, Boone County's Governor Andy Beshear has also been praised for his measured and direct deliveries of daily news conferences about Covid-19.Some residents outside the county have even offered to trade to get him as their own governor.Governor Beshear was particularly outspoken about a group of young adults holding a 'coronavirus party' to defy the county's directive to socially distance in a bid to stem the spread of the virus.Reportedly one party goer now has the coronavirus, much to the Governor's despair. 'This is one that makes me mad,' the governor said during a press briefing. 'We have to be much better than that.'As of 26 March, CNN's state-by-state coronavirus case tracker puts Kentucky down as having 198 total cases so far, with five deaths.According to Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker, the US has had a total of 69,197 confirmed cases, with 1,050 deaths.

Carol, so glad to hear that you and your family, especially your parents are doing well and staying healthy.

I hope all our friends who read here are being super careful during this crisis. We all need to be conscientious about staying away from even our loved ones who don’t live with us. We need to only go out when absolutely necessary and stay away from others as much as possible. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. Stay safe.

Last edited by Donnamarie on Thu 26 Mar 2020, 17:36; edited 2 times in total (Reason for editing : add text)

(Just on the sanitize bit - I hear from doctor friends of my daughter that relative to soap - bar, liquid, whatever that it's better to wash, wash apparently as the sanitizers have half they strength tho as an interim thing I guess it's better than not!)

https://twitter.com/sophiasgaler/status/1242419440899231750 - the twitter page of Sophia who is part of the BBC World Service

Tonight at 8 Great Britain will be standing at their windows and doors to thank the NHS for all that they are doing...possibly better than us all try to sing something like a Killers number....

(Just on the sanitize bit - I hear from doctor friends of my daughter that relative to soap - bar, liquid, whatever that it's better to wash, wash apparently as the sanitizers have half they strength tho as an interim thing I guess it's better than not!)

https://twitter.com/sophiasgaler/status/1242419440899231750 - the twitter page of Sophia who is part of the BBC World Service

Tonight at 8 Great Britain will be standing at their windows and doors to thank the NHS for all that they are doing...possibly better than us all try to sing something like a Killers number....

PAN,we do the same at 9 p m. every night. Plus lighten a candle in the window for all those who are infected and fighting for their lives.Last Sunday, my parents and I were standing outside their entrance door and sang Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah' (my husband is absolutely tone-deaf, so he was just standing there as well).

By the way: I would really appreciate it if everybody would remind the amazing work they all do (medical staff, staff in nursing homes, supermarkets and pharmacies, bus drivers etc.) next time when they ask for a pay raise...

Last edited by carolhathaway on Thu 26 Mar 2020, 21:36; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Forgot to mention staff in nursing homes)

Yes, Carol, I would not be at all surprised to learn that the British Government will be raising all our contributions to the NHS, given that for example a radiotherapy machine costs £3million alone, we all pay very little and all treatment is free at the point of delivery. I'm in no doubt that the majority of us in this country would be more than happy to give more.

The Surgeon General warned on Friday that some states would still be battling coronavirus by Labor Day as he became the latest expert to discredit President Trump's Easter deadline to stamp out the virus. Dr. Jerome Adams spoke during an appearance on Good Morning America where he said the reality is that while some states will overcome the pandemic first, it will travel throughout the country gradually. The situation will not be over by April 12 - Easter - and some communities may still be battling it in September, he said. 'Everyone's timeline is going to be different. Some places haven't hit their peak yet. 'We're trying to give people the testing data to make informed choices. It doesn't matter if it's Easter, Memorial Day or Labor Day. 'We know we want people to be thinking about what they can do now to get through as few deaths and hospitalizations as possible,' he said. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday morning that the city may be closed until the end of May. A study by the University of Washington School of Medicine found also said the pandemic in the US would last until June, and that it may kill as many as 81,000 by then - even taking social distancing into account. Scroll down for video

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Dr. Jerome Adams spoke during an appearance on Good Morning America where he said the reality is that while some states will overcome the pandemic first

Good Morning America

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[ltr]We speak with @Surgeon_General Jerome Adams about whether the “slow the spread” initiative is working and how restrictions may vary for different areas of the country as the United States tops the world in cases. https://gma.abc/33WAmTy [/ltr]

718:02 AM - Mar 27, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy

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47 people are talking about this

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While the US is behind China and South Korea by around seven weeks, he said the evidence in those two countries suggests the steps being taken now are working.'We know it's working. We know that China and South Korea are reopening,' he said. President Trump has suggested implementing stricter rules in some states and cities that are battling the virus while allowing others to relax their lockdown rules. Dr. Adams said it could work if local governments cooperated. 'The way it works is through cooperation.

'The authority lies at the state level. Nineteen of the 50 states in the country have been testing and documented persistently low spread. 'We want to make sure those places know what the situation is. So that if they're in a high risk area, they're taking appropriate precautions. [url=https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8160075/Privacy Statement]John Hopkins University & Medicine Privacy Policy[/url]

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President Trump suggested earlier this week that the country could reopen by April 12

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's authorative voice on the virus, said the president made that deadline to give people hope but that it was not necessarily realistic

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The US has now overtaken Italy with the number of new coronavirus cases per day

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As of Thursday, 1,300 people had died in the US as a result of the virus'If you're in a low risk area, it doesn't mean that you stop washing your hands or that you stop social distancing. 'It just means you may not be in total lockdown like New York or California,' he said. On Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci - the highest authority on the disease in the White House's task force - said the president's April deadline was designed to give people hope. 'I think what the President was trying to do, he was making an aspirational projection to give people some hope,' Fauci said of the proposed April 12 target date on CNN Thursday night.'But he's listening to us when we say that we've really got to reevaluate it in real time, and any decision we make has to be based on the data,' Fauci continued.'When you have a situation when the cases today compared to tomorrow is increased dramatically and then the next day is increased dramatically, that's no time to pull back,' he said

A 17-year-old boy in Los Angeles who died of septic shock and was found to have coronavirus after his death was turned away from urgent care because he didn't have insurance. The teenager died on Tuesday after finally being admitted to a public hospital in the northern Los Angeles neighborhood of Lancaster. Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said the teen was healthy and had no pre-existing conditions before his death.The teen was initially taken to an urgent care facility in Lancaster after he started experiencing respiratory issues.

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Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris said the teen, who was healthy and had no pre-existing conditions before his death, was turned away from an urgent care facility in Los Angeles because he didn't have insuranceParris said he was turned away because he didn't have insurance and was told to go to a public hospital instead. The boy went into cardiac arrest en route to the Antelope Valley Hospital. 'They were able to revive him and keep him alive for about six hours. But by the time he got there, it was too late,' Parris said. 'The Friday before he died, he was healthy. By Wednesday, he was dead.' Health officials in Los Angeles County announced this week that the teenager had died of coronavirus.Just hours later, after California Governor Gavin Newsom cited the boy's death as evidence the virus can strike anyone, health officials said there may be an 'alternate explanation' and that his death would be further investigated.

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The boy went into cardiac arrest en route to the Antelope Valley Hospital and he died several hours later. The teen's positive coronavirus test did not come back until after his death

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The teen's father, who is an Uber driver in Los Angeles, has also since tested positive for coronavirus and is currently sick[size=10][size=18]USNS Mercy arrives in the Port of LA to aid COVID-19 patients

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He died from septic shock - a reaction to a widespread infection that can cause dangerously low blood pressure and organ failure.The teen's positive coronavirus test did not come back until after his death.His father, who is an Uber driver in Los Angeles, has also since tested positive for coronavirus and is currently sick. Mayor Parris said earlier this week that he doesn't doubt the teen died from complications of COVID-19, saying: 'We're the first city in the nation to lose a child and that is unbearable to me.' In California, there are now more than 4,000 confirmed corinavirus cases and 82 deaths.It comes after a 17-year-old from New Orleans died from coronavirus this week as the city remains on track to become the next US outbreak epicenter give it has one of the highest case growth rates in the world. Louisiana now has more than 2,300 confirmed cases and has reported 83 deaths.

It really makes me sad to read and hear about the dramatic situation in many cities around the globe. I've just had a discussion with a neighbour who said we should 'isolate those who are high-risk groups because otherwise our economy will be ruined. And I'm not willing to lose my job so a 80 year old will turn 81.' My reply was: 'Okay, who's a high-risk group? Everybody who's 50 and older. Everybody with high-blood pressure, diabetis and many other diseases. My son's lungues are damaged due to his prematurity. If you isolate my son, we as his parents and also his sister have to be isolated as well, can't go to work and school etc for months. Everybody who takes care of people in these high-risk groups had to be isolated as well, e.g. medical staff, those working in nursing homes etc. And if they have families, they had to be isolated as well, their partners and kids couldn't go to work and school either. And there are also young people suffering from a severe course of disease and even die from it. Plus there's a large group of people who simply don't know about their pre-existing condition. So ny conclusion is: I think it wouldn't be a good idea to isolate those in high-risk groups and let the rest continue with their lifes.' Got no reply afterwords...

[size=34]New York hospitals could use LOTTERIES for ventilators in an extreme shortage during coronavirus emergency - and other states plan to DENY access to those with cancer or a mental disability[/size]

There is no national protocol for rationing ventilators and each state has its own

In New York, ethical guidance calls for lottery if there's equal chance of recovery

In Alabama, protocol says those with mental disabilities may be poor candidates

That policy applies even to children, outraging disability rights group

State emergency plans to ration ventilators if the coronavirus pandemic worsens are raising thorny ethical questions, as New York considers lotteries for access to the machines and other states contemplate denying them to those with mental disabilities.The White House says that as yet, no one has been denied a ventilator who needed one. But as the crisis deepens, several states are putting grim plans in place to ration the vital machines.In New York, the state's ethical guidelines for allocating ventilators in a pandemic call for devoting scarce resources to the patients who are most likely to be saved.However, the New York report concluded that in the rare case when multiple patients are equally likely to recover, but there are limited resources to help them, hospitals should 'utilize "random selection" (e.g., lottery) methods.'

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A coronavirus patient is transferred from Elmhurst General Hospital in Queens on Thursday. New York state's ethical guidelines call for ventilator lotteries in a crisis shortage

ShareThe panel concluded that a lottery was more equitable than treating people on a first-come, first-serve basis, which could disadvantage 'those who are of lower socio-economic means who may not have access to information about the pandemic or to reliable transportation, or minority populations who might initially avoid going to a hospital because of distrust of the health care system.'The New York guidelines are not binding, and hospitals there are already forming their own ethics panels to determine how to ration care in the event of a critical shortage -- a scene that has already played out tragically in Italy.Meanwhile, in the absence of national protocols, states around the country have been devising their own, some of which have drawn outrage from disability rights advocates. On Tuesday, Alabama's Emergency Operations Plan for mechanical ventilator triage was the subject of a complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights.

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A ventilator is pictured in a file photo. Health officials fear that a shortage of the machines in the pandemic could lead to rationing, and heartbreaking decisions about who gets care

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Part of Alabama's Emergency Operations Plan for mechanical ventilator triage is seen aboveIn the event of a crisis shortage, the Alabama protocol lists several health conditions for which providers should 'not offer mechanical ventilator support,' including heart failure, respiratory failure and metastatic cancer. It also says 'persons with severe mental retardation, advanced dementia or severe traumatic brain injury may be poor candidates for ventilator support.'Those categories could include people with Alzheimer's, as well as people of any age with disabilities such as Down syndrome, outraging disability rights advocates.Alabama 'is poised to make life-and-death decisions that will deny needed medical treatment to countless individuals based entirely on their underlying disabilities,' the complaint says. 'The mere fact that a person has an intellectual or cognitive disability cannot be a basis for denying care or making that person a lower priority to receive treatment.' 'In this time of crisis, we cannot devalue the lives of others in our community based on their disabilities. It's morally wrong, and it violates the law,' said James Tucker, Director of the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program, in a statement.

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Medical personnel screen a patient for coronavirus symptoms in Alabama. The state's emergency protocol for ventilator triage has drawn a complaint from disability groupsThe group pointed to 37-year-old Matthew Foster, a resident of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, as an example of someone with Down syndrome who could be affected by the state's emergency plan. 'When Matthew was told about this policy, he responded: 'I have Down Syndrome. It's not going away. But I have a right to live. I'm worth it,'' the group said in a statement.

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Down syndrome advocate Matthew Foster says 'I have a right to live' of Alabama's ventilator triage protocolsMatthew, who has held a job for the past twenty years, has 'enormous gifts and talents because of his disability, not in spite of it,' said his mother, Susan Ellis, according to the group. 'He's had a positive impact on our family and community. The idea that his life is not worthy because of his intellectual disability is devastating and wrong,' she said. Disability rights groups also filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights on Monday in regard to Washington state's emergency protocol.The complain says guidance distributed by the Washington State Department of Health last week recommends that triage teams consider transferring hospital patients with 'loss of reserves in energy, physical ability, cognition and general health' to outpatient or palliative care. President Donald Trump said Friday that he is using wartime federal authority to force production of up to 100,000 ventilators. Trump made the comment just hours after announcing he was invoking the Defense Production Act to force General Motors to to produce ventilators under government contracts.'We are prepared for things that nobody has any idea that we’d be prepared,' Trump said at the White House.

Carolhathaway - Great response! Most people who think like your neighbor believe they will be immune - the rules won't apply to them and their families won't be affected - until they are. Then they want special treatment.

I’ve read enough personal stories of healthy people in their 30s and 40s coming down with CV and ending up in the hospital and, in some cases, dying. Older people are always at higher risk when it comes to infections because their immune systems are not as strong as when they were younger. But this virus pretty much crosses all age groups. Even the medical experts and scientists don’t know everything they need to know yet about the virus. No one is immune until they get it or in the future get the vaccine.

What Trump doesn’t get is despite how the Army Corp may be doing a great job since they’ve FINALLY been called into action the Federal Government has failed us. They (Trump) waited almost two months before finally taking any steps to address the pandemic and it is clear they (Trump) have no clear strategy on how to combat it over the next several weeks.

[size=34]BREAKING NEWS: Trump considers QUARANTINING 'heavily infected' New York City and areas of Connecticut and New Jersey as Lindsay Graham tells him relaxing coronavirus restrictions 'would put deaths on him'[/size]

President Trump is considering quarantining New York, Connecticut and New Jersey to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic

The possible quarantine would be 'short-term' and 'enforceable' but he said he would not need to get the National Guard in to ensure residents comply

Deaths in New York state reached 728 Saturday as it continues to be the US coronavirus epicenter

New York Gov Cuomo hit back at the president's plans saying 'I don't like the sound of it' and that he doesn't think it is 'enforceable'

Trump has repeatedly said he plans to get the country up and running as soon as April 12

Lindsey Graham, Senator and Trump's golf buddy, has warned the president not to reopen the country too soon and that if he does, he will be held responsible for the coronavirus deaths that follow

President Trump is considering quarantining New York, Connecticut and New Jersey in desperate efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.The move will restrict travel to and from the three states, which are some of the hardest-hit by the outbreak. 'Some people would like to see New York quarantined because it's a hotspot — New York, New Jersey maybe one or two other places, certain parts of Connecticut quarantined. I'm thinking about that right now,' he said Saturday.'We might not have to do it but there's a possibility that sometime today we'll do a quarantine - short term - two weeks for New York, probably New Jersey, certain parts of Connecticut.'He said the possible quarantine would be 'short-term' but that it would be 'enforceable'. The president dismissed the idea that he would need to deploy the National Guard to ensure residents comply with the quarantine rules.'We're not going to need that,' he said.

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President Trump is considering quarantining the whole of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey in desperate efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemicThe move would help tackle the issue other states are facing where New Yorkers are fleeing the city and traveling to other states and areas, where they are potentially risking more lives and spreading the disease further afield.'Restrict travel, because they're having problems down in Florida, a lot of New Yorkers going down. We don't want that,' he said. New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo hit back at the president's plans in a press conference Saturday.'I don't even know what that means. I don't know how that could be legally enforceable,' said Cuomo. 'And from a medical point view, I don't know what you would be accomplishing.'But I can tell you, I don't even like the sound of it.' Cuomo said he had spoken with Trump earlier Saturday and the two had not discussed a possible quarantine.The president made the comments as he touched down in Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews around noon Saturday and spoke to reporters.

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US President Donald Trump boarding Marine One as he departs the White House in Washington, DC, on Saturday, as he said a short-term quarantine could be enforced in the three states 'We're looking at it,' he said about the possible quarantine of the three states.'We're looking at it and will be making a decision. A lot of the states that are infected - they've asked me if I'd look at it so we're going to look at it. Maybe for a short period of time.''It would be for a short time' for parts of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, he said.However when asked if he would shut down the New York City subway he said: 'No we wouldn't do that.' He said he would talk to New York state Governor Cuomo about the measures later today.Trump also took the opportunity to praise the work Congress had done to pass the $2 trillion emergency bailout package, which he signed into law Friday.

'We have great oversight - a lot of oversight. We have a lot of people watching. It's a wonderful thing we've done for the workers and for the citizens,' he said. 'A lot of people are going to work. It will bring back the economy I think very fast.' Trump reinforced the quarantine claims on leaving the air base and traveling to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, where he was sending the US Navy Comfort on to New York where it will be turned into a makeshift hospital. 'We will make a decision, very quickly, very shortly' on quarantining the 'hot areas' of those states, he said. 'We'll be announcing that one way or the other, fairly soon.'The president said that, if enforced, the move would not restrict trade coming in and out of the states. 'This does not apply to people, such as truckers, from outside the New York area,' he said.'It won't affect trade in any way.' His comments on a possible quarantine seemed to backtrack on his previous claims that he wants to get the economy and normal life back up and running as soon as possible. +10

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Trump said this week that he wanted the US 'opened up and raring to go' by April 12 for Easter. One in three Americans have already lost their jobs following state shutdowns designed to stop the outbreak in its tracks.The number of new unemployment claims soared to 3.3 million Thursday, and experts have warned that those in low-income jobs have been hardest hit.But the president's plan to rush through the country's reopening has been slammed by healthcare professionals and other politicians. Lindsey Graham, Senator and Trump's golf buddy, warned the president not to reopen the country too soon and that if he does, he will be responsible for the coronavirus deaths that follow. In a call last Sunday, Graham advised Trump that if he opens the economy too soon, more lives will be lost, according to the Washington Post.He warned the president that he and the rest of the Republican Party would be held personally responsible for the deaths that arose from them ignoring advice of medical experts.The move could be detrimental to the upcoming presidential elections, he said. Fauci, America's top disease expert, also poured cold water on the president's plan saying: 'I think what the President was trying to do, he was making an aspirational projection to give people some hope.' +10

Trump has come under fire for his plans to have the US 'opened up and raring to go' by April 12. Experts and even his own party have warned him that the move could cost lives'But he's listening to us when we say that we've really got to reevaluate it in real time, and any decision we make has to be based on the data,' he told CNN. More than 800,000 doctors across the United States also sent a letter to Trump Friday, urging him to rethink his strategy and warning him that opening the economy by Easter could 'gravely jeopardize the health of all Americans.' The Council of Medicinal Speciality Societies addressed the letter to Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and White House Coronavirus Task Force Ambassador Deborah Birx on Friday. It said medical staff are risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients and called on the Trump administration to support 'science-based recommendations' on social distancing. The number of deaths in New York state reached 728 Saturday, as the US's epicenter for coronavirus struggles to bring the pandemic under control. The death toll in the city rose to 450 as of early Saturday morning as its healthcare system is threatened with imminent collapse. +10

New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo hit back at the president's plans in a press conference Saturday: 'I don't know what it means … I don't know how it will be enforceable. I don't like the sound of it'On both Thursday and Friday, another 85 people died of the virus, or an average of one New Yorker every 17 minutes. There are 26,697 confirmed NYC cases as the national total soars over 100,000. Queens is emerging as the epicenter of the epicenter in New York City with 8,214 cases, a one-day increase of 32 percent.In just the past week, one funeral home in Queens has held service for close to a dozen people who have died from the virus, and is expecting to do more.Manhattan patients are testing positive at a significantly lower rate than the outer boroughs with no neighborhood reporting over 40 percent of patients confirmed positive.The city's healthcare system is buckling under the strain of the rise in cases. Medical emergency calls were up 40 percent to about 6,500 a day, shattering historical records and leading to up to 170 callers being put on hold at a time, according to EMS union officials.+10

The U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort is headed for New York to be used as a makeshift hospital amid the pandemicInside the city's hospitals, healthcare workers faced unspeakable scenes of suffering and death.'Hell. Biblical. I kid you not. People come in, they get intubated, they die, the cycle repeats,' said Dr Steve Kassapidis of Mount Sinai Queens, in an interview with Sky News. '9/11 was nothing compared to this, we were open waiting for patients to come who never came. Now they just keep coming.''The hospitals look like a war zone,' Dr Emad Youssef of Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn told CBS News. 'People lining up out of the hallway, through the EMS bay, through the ambulance bay, with masks on themselves, with oxygen on their nose.' USNS Comfort is headed for New York where it will be turned into a makeshift hospital to ease the burden on the state's hospitals. It left Virginia Saturday afternoon, after President Trump's visit, and will now travel down the Elizabeth River, into Willoughby Bay, into the Chesapeake Bay, to the Atlantic for its voyage to New York.+10

A medical worker at the coronavirus testing tent set up outside Elmhurst Hospital Center in New York on Saturday: The number of deaths in New York state reached 728 Saturday, as the US's epicenter for coronavirus struggles to bring the pandemic under control+10

The death toll in New York City rose to 450 as of early Saturday morning as its healthcare system is threatened with imminent collapseNeighboring state New Jersey has also been grappling to bring the outbreak under control, with 8,825 confirmed cases and 108 confirmed deaths.Last week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order mandating that all non-essential retail businesses close their stores and almost all state residents stay home to curb the spread of the coronavirus.The order affects some 9 million residents in the state and exempts those who work in essential services such as healthcare and the food industry, the governor said at a news conference. It banned all gatherings including weddings and parties, Murphy said.

A New York State dad is refusing to let his son come back home after the 21-year-old refused to cut short his spring break trip to Texas, despite rising coronavirus fears sweeping the country. Matt Levine, 21, of Nanuet, New York, traveled to South Padre Island, Texas, for spring break with his friends from their Massachusetts' Springfield College, in mid-March. 'I spoke with him every day and told him that maybe they should come home,' dad Peter Levine, 52, told the New York Post. 'I was aggravated. The news here was getting worse and worse.'

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Dad Peter Levine, 52 (pictured), has banned his son, Matt Levine, 21, from entering the family home, over coronavirus fears as Matt returned from partying in Texas during spring break

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Dad Peter stopped son Matt (pictured in Massachusetts) and his friends from entering the home when they arrived off their flight from Texas. They were planning to stay the night

Rather than return home, Peter said Matt sent him pictures of himself and his friends, hanging around outside and listening to live music. 'It’s the scene you would not want to be in,' Peter said. KRGV reported on March 9, at the start of spring break season, that it was business as usual as spring breakers said that they were not worried about coronavirus and that officials hadn't made any decisions to change the way spring breakers partied.Instead, local businesses were told to stock hand sanitizer and remind kids to wash their hands. Peter eventually told Matt that he and his friends would not be able to stay at their Nanuet home on their way back to college, as they had originally planned to do. Peter said that Matt's grandparents also live in the house and that 'there is no need to expose them to god knows what he had been exposed to!'Matt, meanwhile, quickly realized that his spring break trip wasn't panning out the way he anticipated. 'We were only allowed to go to the beach in small groups and couldn’t have speakers; by then, there was basically no one on the island,' Matt told the newspaper, adding that 'The police seemed like they were trying to ruin our good time.'

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Peter (pictured) said that he didn't want Matt to stay at the home because he didn't want Matt's grandparents, who also live in the home, to be exposed to anything Matt might have caught

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Matt (pictured) was made to drive back to Massachusetts, where he attends college, with a trunk full of groceries and $300 cash - both prepared for him by his father

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Spring break crowds were out in full force on South Padre Island, Texas, in early March (pictured), as officials had no plans to limit gatherings despite the coronavirus outbreak

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South Padre Island beaches were pictured still full of crowds of college kids on March 9

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Crowds of spring breakers are shown here on South Padre Island, getting up close and personal while listening to a DJ playing on a stage

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By March 21, beaches were shown closed in an effort to limit gatherings of large groups

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When it was time to return home last weekend, Matt said that their airplane was rerouted to Tennessee because there had been a confirmed coronavirus diagnosis at LaGuardia Airport in New York City. 'The passengers were freaking out and trying to stay away from each other. But we made it home,' Matt said. After landing, Peter said there was 'No chance!' he would pick them up from the airport, leaving Matt and his friends to find a car service to drive them to the family home. When the driver dropped them off near the driveway, Peter told them they couldn't go inside the home. 'I said, "Stay right there! Do not go any further!"' Peter said, adding that he wouldn't even let them inside to use the bathroom, telling the college kids to use the bushes instead. He said two of them did exactly that. 'I love my son, but they were not sleeping here,' Peter said. Instead, Peter sent Matt and his friends off on their two-and-a-half hour drive back to their college town, having already filled his son's car trunk with groceries and put $300 in cash in an envelope on the front seat. Matt was left with no choice but to return to the off-campus apartment he shares with roommates in Massachusetts, despite his college classes having been canceled. Matt had originally planned to move back home after the semester ended, but Peter said that Matt's apartment lease ends in June, but that 'none of the parents want them home' because 'It’s too risky.'

Pennsylvania woman Margaret Cirko, 35, was arrested Thursday after deliberately coughing on produce in local grocery store and charged with making terrorist threatsA Pennsylvania woman who allegedly coughed on $35,000 worth of grocery store products claiming she was ill in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in a cruel prank has been arrested.Margaret Cirko, 35, was charged with terrorist threats on Thursday, one day after she allegedly entered Gerrity’s Supermarket in Hanover Township and coughed all over its products.On Wednesday she entered the busy store and threatened patrons saying she was sick then intentionally coughed and spit on fresh produce and other items in the store, Hanover Township Police said.She continued this behavior 'in several aisles before attempting to steal a 12 pack of beer as she was being ordered to leave the store by employees', police said. Cirko is not believed to be infected with COVID-19, but the store owners had no choice but to throw out some of the merchandise she coughed worth more than $35,000 including fresh produce, some bakery products, meat and other shelves of goods.

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On Wednesday she entered Gerrity’s Supermarket in Hanover Township and coughed and spit all over its products claiming she was ill amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured in a police car after her arrest on Thursday March 26

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Following the coughing incident she was sent for mental health evaluation at a local hospital. Police said they would test her for COVID-19 as well

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Cirko was charged with two felony counts of terrorist threats, one felony count of threat to use a 'biological agent' and one felony count of criminal mischief. She also faces misdemeanor counts of criminal attempt to commit retail theft and disorderly conduct. A judge arraigns Cirko on Thursday from a police car and handed her the charges'I am also absolutely sick to my stomach about the loss of food. While it is always a shame when food is wasted, in these times when so many people are worried about the security of our food supply, it is even more disturbing,' Joe Fasula, the store's co-owner, shared on Facebook Wednesday.After the incident the store deep cleaned its shelves to assure it was safe. 'Today was a very challenging day. While there is little doubt this woman was doing it as a very twisted prank, we will not take any chances with the health and well-being of our customers,' Fasula said on Facebook. The store and Hanover’s health inspector worked together to identify every area the suspect was in and the store was scrubbed clean by more than 15 employees, putting the store’s safety protocols to the test.

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Cirko is not believed to be infected with COVID-19, but the store owners had no choice but to throw out some of the merchandise she coughed on worth more than $35,000. Gerrity's supermarket owner Joe Fasula pictured talking about the incident on Thursday

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After the incident 15 supermarket employees deep cleaned the supermarket. Joe Fasula pictured restocking shelves after Cirko coughed on $35,000 worth of produce and meat, threatening to expose people to the novel coronavirus Cirko was charged with two felony counts of terrorist threats, one felony count of threat to use a 'biological agent' and one felony count of criminal mischief.She also faces misdemeanor counts of criminal attempt to commit retail theft and disorderly conduct.Following the coughing incident she was sent for mental health evaluation at a local hospital. Police said they would test her for COVID-19 as well.

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Gerrity's Supermarket shared this post to customers after the incident, adding, 'don't cough on anything'

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The exterior of Gerrity's grocery store in Hanover Township pictured aboveShe was arraigned on Thursday and her bail at $50,000.She’s being held at Luzerne County Prison and a preliminary hearing is set for April 8, cops said.Fasula shared an update on Facebook to his customers writing that it’s been 'an eventful two days for our family business.' He said the produce department was fully restocked by 2pm Thursday.He shared a reminder of shopping rules on Facebook to customers Thursday and joked, 'don't cough on anything.'

Both these stories show that the US has more than its share of idiots. 21 is old enough to understand a health crisis and act responsibly. Too bad he didn't listen to his father, who apparently didn't pass the intelligence gene to his son. Maybe the fact that none of the parents would let their kids come home will make a dent in their immaturity - but I doubt it. They're probably sitting around on campus whining.

The woman in Pa. should have to pay for everything the store had to throw away because of her - and for the cleaning supplies and employee wages needed to disinfect the store.

Seems like we're the only ones in the world who look facts in the face and believe the opposite. Maybe it's something in our water supply?

Hundreds of people flouted Louisiana's COVID-19 ban on gatherings, coming on buses and in personal vehicles to the first of three Sunday services at their church as the governor warns that the state's healthcare system will be overwhelmed. An estimated 500 people of all ages filed inside the mustard-yellow and beige Life Tabernacle church in Central, a city of nearly 29,000 outside Baton Rouge.The church's pastor, Tony Spell, defied an order from Gov John Bel Edwards who banned mass gatherings in the state where more than 3,500 Louisiana residents have been diagnosed with the disease caused by the coronavirus, and 151 people have died, according to figures released Sunday. Edwards repeated on Sunday's national news talk shows what he's been saying for days: the state's hospitals may become overwhelmed due to rise in cases in New Orleans. Hospitals in the city are likely to run out of ventilators by April 4 and of hospital bed space by April 10.

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Congregants arrived by buses (pictured) to the Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana, on Sunday morning

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Assistant ministers and worshippers outside the front doors and in the parking lot at Life Tabernacle told media to leave, saying cameras would not be allowed on the property and worshippers had been told not to talk to reporters

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Worshippers are seen standing closely following church services at the Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana, on Sunday Deaths include that of the first federal prison inmate - a man with 'serious preexisting conditions' who was being held in Oakdale, Lousiana, the US Bureau of Prisons said Saturday.Assistant ministers and worshippers outside the front doors and in the parking lot at Life Tabernacle told media to leave, saying cameras would not be allowed on the property and worshippers had been told not to talk to reporters. They went inside without further comment.Across the street, neighbors gathered in a driveway, carefully staying at least 6 feet apart.Paul Quinn, a resident of Central who lives near the church, says this is a health hazard.'Other congregations are using the Internet, Skype, and other safe ways to congregate. Why can't they? What makes them so special?' said Quinn.'I wish state police would come out and do something. This is above our little local police level. The state needs to get involved. If they get out of church and go to the grocery store, it's a serious health hazard. They don't know how many people they're affecting, and they don't seem to care. That's a problem.'

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Pastor Tony Spell (far right) has defied a shelter-in-place order by Louisiana Gov John Bel Edwards, due to the new coronavirus pandemic, and continues to hold church services with hundreds of congregants

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Congregants at the Life Tabernacle Church embrace after services on Sunday

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Children yell to news media from a church bus as they depart after services at the Life Tabernacle Church in Central, Louisiana

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Lance Knippers was seen protesting outside the church as members arrived for service Sunday morning [size=18]Louisiana issues stay at home order after cases increase

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The virus has killed seven of more than 160 people diagnosed with the disease in East Baton Rouge Parish, according to state figures. More than 1,300 of the COVID-19 diagnoses and 73 of the deaths have been in New Orleans. In New Orleans, police broke up a 'funeral repast' of about 100 people Saturday afternoon, issuing a warrant for a 28-year-old man who refused to shut it down and giving the band leader a summons, a news release said.Several complaints about that event were among more than 300 received in the past week about violations of a ban on gatherings of more than 10 people, Superintendent Shaun Ferguson said in a separate statement. New Orleans tourist economy has also been hit hard, with hotels, restaurants, bars, convention centers and other businesses closed, and food banks running low.Food banks got a boost when the US Department of Agriculture agreed that they could use about 4 million pounds of stockpiled federal emergency supplies. New Orleans leaders had been asking for about a week before USDA granted the waivers Friday night.'We told them tens of thousands of people have been laid off in the hospitality industry, and they need food now,' City Councilwoman Helena Moreno said. 'Then they kind of got it.'

I think the neighbor was right. The state police should have been called in. Ideally the church should have been quarantined. Failing that, no one should have been permitted to leave without giving their name and address to authorities. Their "pastor" should be in jail.

We should be so far beyond this kind of stupidity. There need to be consequences for these morons. If anyone in the vicinity of the church gets sick they should be able to sue the church. Maybe that would make an impression.

[size=34]'Who saw that coming?' Fury at evangelical Liberty University president after his controversial decision to reopen the school in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic leads to eleven students displaying symptoms[/size]

About 1,900 students returned to their dorm rooms at Virginia's Liberty University last Monday but 800 have since left

11 students suffered from coronavirus symptoms after returning to campus

College President Jerry Falwell Jr has long played down the threat of COVID-19

Falwell said dorm rooms had been deep cleaned and believes the school will be a 'model for all colleges to follow in the fall, if coronavirus is still an issue'

Medical professionals, college faculty and local city officials were outraged that the school would even consider re-opening while restrictions were in place

Eleven students who attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, have come down with coronavirus symptoms after returning to campus. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. decided to reopen the campus to students at the end of spring break despite public health officials warning him not to do so. The Democratic governor of Virginia Ralph Northam had previously banned gatherings of more than 100 people in the state to which Liberty said it would transition most classes to online.

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College President Jerry Falwell Jr has long played down the threat of COVID-19. Falwell said dorm rooms had been deep cleaned and urged students to return to campus

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About 1,900 students returned to their dorm rooms at Virginia's Liberty University last Monday but 800 have since left. The campus is picturedNonetheless, 1,900 students returned to campus last week, but 800 have since left.Speaking at a news conference in Richmond, Gov. Ralph Northam criticized Liberty, which is among the nation's largest and most prominent evangelical colleges, as sending 'mixed messages' about COVID-19. The illness has crippled economies, forced restrictions on the movement of millions of people and swamped health care systems. Of the 11 who have symptoms, three have been referred to hospitals in order to get tests while eight have been told to self-quarantine according to the New York Times.'Liberty has a responsibility to [reopen to our] students — who paid to be here, who want to be here, who love it here — to give them the ability to be with their friends, to continue their studies, enjoy the room and board they've already paid for, and to not interrupt their college life,' Falwell told the News & Advance last week.

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The school has more than 45,300 students enrolled for the year, but it's unclear how many will return to campus. About 1,900 returned to campus but 800 then left during the weekResidential students were told they were 'welcome' to return to campus, according to an email sent to students. The move was at odds with many other institutions of higher education, including the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, which has said only students who have 'no other options' can remain on campus, and William & Mary, which closed its residence halls. Northam, who is a doctor, pleaded with Falwell not to reopen campus, but he was ignored. 'I would suggest that President Falwell look to the actions of the leaders of Virginia´s flagship universities for how to set a strong example in this health crisis and to please reconsider his message that invites and encourages students to return to campus,' he said. The on-campus physician, Dr. Thomas Eppes Jr. has admitted the school has 'lost the ability to corral this thing.' However, he did not attempt to try and persuade Falwell to close the school back down.'I just am not going to be so presumptuous as to say, 'This is what you should do and this is what you shouldn't do.'' Falwell has long been a staunch ally of President Trump and had previously said that he felt Liberty University was being targeted for being 'Christian' and 'conservative.'

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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam asked Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. to reconsider his decision to welcome students back to the Lynchburg campus, but he was ignored (file pic)He has generally characterized concerns about the virus as overblown and even offered unsubstantiated speculation that the coronavirus may have been the work of North Korea, accusing the news media of stoking fear. Liberty University released a statement: 'Our students are part of the Lynchburg community! They work jobs, have apartments, make economic contributions and pay taxes. That they should be banned or discouraged from choosing to utilize the shelter and food sources that they paid for in a time of crisis is unthinkable.' Those living in the city of Lynchburg are furious.'We had a firestorm of our own citizens who said, 'What's going on?' said mayor Treney Tweedy, the mayor. 'He doesn't think anyone should be able to tell him what to do, and he's going to do whatever he wants,' an unnamed former Liberty University executive told Politico, 'He's very defiant,' said another associate to Falwel. 'It's very much in his character. That's a family trait. His father was the same way.' On Twitter, reaction was also hostile towards the college and its president. 'LibertyU is just utterly ridiculous & unconscionable, & Jerry Falwell Jr. proves repeatedly he's an apostolic hypocrite, charlatan & dangerous religious zealot who'se totally unworthy of any credence. What about CV19 PANDEMIC can't be fully appreciated & understood BY A COLLEGE!?' wrote one user.'Hey Liberty U, it's called community spread. You see those sick students pas COVID19 to others and they can take it off campus. Exponentially. Ask your biology and math departments. You do have those?' asked another incredulous at the decision. 'Wonder how much money the person who will eventually sue you get?' pondered another online poster.'Let's ask Liberty University students if this is a good idea,' suggested another. 'Falwell had Liberty University bring back students after spring break, KNOWINGLY putting students at risk because he wanted to back up Trump's downplaying of COVID. So no surprise LU students have come down with COVID. I hope their families sue Falwell for every last penny,' wrote another critical of Falwell's decision.

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On Twitter, reaction was also hostile towards the college and its controversial presidentFor most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

If it only spread within their own community it would bother me, but not as much as the fact that they'll be spreading the virus to a community of responsible people who are doing what they're supposed to do. Callous, irresponsible and selfish. Is this really what Jesus would do?

We had the first confirmed Corona-based death in my county. He came from the very next village, just about 1 mile away. I know him, he's my brother-in-law's uncle. He was 80 but had no serious health issues. His wife was tested positive as well, so nobody is allowed to visit her to condole her. Their daughter is very pregnant and due in just two weeks, and their son has a chronical lung disease, so nobody can really support her. He was a very respected and well-known in our community, so normally there would be a big memorial service with hundreds of people. Now, it's limited to 20 people who are nog allowed to sit or stand close together.

In a nursing home in a city not far away whose residents suffer from dementia, half of the residents and also some staff members are infected, 17 residents have died so far. And they also infected some of the medical staff in the clinic nearby, so the clinic is now closed for new patients.

MICHAEL BROCHSTEIN/SIPA USA/APPolice in New Jersey broke up a “Corona Party” with nearly 50 attendees on Friday night, prompting the state’s governor to slam the get-together as “illegal, dangerous, and stupid.”Gov. Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter Saturday that the Ewing Township Police Department was called to a 550-square foot apartment to break up a party with 47 people present, including a DJ.“The organizer was charged, as they should have been and deserved to be,” the governor wrote. “This is not a game. Stay home. Be smart.”Murphy, who has encouraged residents to practice social distancing in order to flatten the curve, followed up hours later, doubling down on his disgust with the party, which violated an executive order he issued on March 16.

“Can’t believe I have to say this at all, let alone for the second time. But here we are. NO CORONA PARTIES,” he wrote. “They’re illegal, dangerous, and stupid. We will crash your party. You will pay a big fine. And we will name & shame you until EVERYONE gets this message into their heads.”

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Governor Phil Murphy

@GovMurphy

[ltr]Can’t believe I have to say this at all, let alone for the second time. But here we are.

NO CORONA PARTIES. They’re illegal, dangerous, and stupid.

We will crash your party. You will pay a big fine. And we will name & shame you until EVERYONE gets this message into their heads.[/ltr]

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The Ewing Police Department said in a release that they received an anonymous call about a party on Friday night, and arrived to find a “large gathering” inside a rented apartment.The renter, 47-year-old Wade Jackson had allegedly dubbed the get-together a “Corona Party,” and was issued summonses for obstructing administration of law or other governmental function and a violation of emergency and temporary acts. Jackson did not immediately return PEOPLE’s request for comment.

Murphy’s executive order banned all gatherings, including parties, celebrations and other social events, and ordered all restaurants to limit themselves to delivery or take-out only. It also closed schools indefinitely, and put a curfew in place from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for non-essential businesses.

CONTAGION PSAS: MATT DAMON EXPLAINS SOCIAL DISTANCINGBOB HARPER STRESSES HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO 'STAY POSITIVE AND SHARP' MENTALLY DURING THIS TIMENew Jersey has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus, and as of Monday morning, had 13,386 confirmed cases and 161 deaths attributed to the virus, second only to New York, according to The New York Times.Still, it’s not the only state in which governors have had to publicly slam corona-themed parties.RELATED: Louisiana Church Holds Service for Hundreds, Defying State Order to Stay Home to Prevent Coronavirus SpreadLast week, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said that at least one of the state’s cases originated at a “coronavirus party” of adults in their 20s.“This is the part where I, the person that tells everybody to be calm, have to remain calm myself. Because anyone who goes to something like this may think that they are indestructible, but it’s someone else’s loved one that they are going to hurt,” he said, according to the Courier Journal. “Don’t be so callous as to intentionally go to something and expose yourself to something that can kill other people. We ought to be so much better than that.”As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.

Is there a system for local testing? Here in Britain there is one emergency number for all of us and every local doctor now has a specialised unit to refer people to.

One of the biggest things seem to be making sure that the doctors and nurses have maximum protection so that they can help others - and of course they need a mask and ppe kit for every single patient because they have to have new kit every time they have a new patient. Supplies are key. They are also desperate to test every single one of them too.

It would seem that all the wet markets in Wuhan have all been opened again............

in Germany, you call your doctor if you have certain syndroms and/or have been in contact with a Corona patient. They tell you where to go to get tested, in cities there are special drive-through testing areas. In rural areas like mine, you'd be tested at a special unit (a tent or an isolated area) in a hospital. You can't just go there to be tested 'just to make sure' but need to be registred by your doctor. In my town, somebody walked in his doctor's surgery because he didn't feel well (it's also flu season), and during examination he told them that he'd been skiing in Italy before...Now, some of the medical staff there has Corona and is closed. Since this happened quite a few times, all the doctor surgeries are closed to the public, and you call them if you don't feel well. The system is not perfect, but since this is a pandemic situation we had never had before, it's new for everyone. We now know that it had been useful if not all production of protective gear and medicine had gone to China and that it's very useful to store much more protective gear just in case...

This is the shocking moment a huge line of police officers were forced to disperse a little girl's birthday party in Los Angeles on Saturday. Footage from the incident taken in the Hyde Park area shows the group of around 40 revelers refusing to comply with social distancing rules. Law enforcement were forced to call for back up as the crowd became 'agitated', a source said. The LAPD said no arrests were made.[size=10][size=18]LAPD forced to break up child's birthday party over coronavirus

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Footage from the incident taken in the Hyde Park area shows the group of around 40 revelers refusing to comply with social distancing rules Saturday

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Law enforcement were forced to call for back up as the crowd became 'agitated'

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The video clip begins with groups of women and children shouting at officers, who have formed a lineIn Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti has instituted a shutdown on a city of nearly 4 million people and threatened uncooperative business owners with power shutoffs and arrest. By midday Monday, California had more than 6,300 cases and 132 deaths of reported cases, according to a running list by Johns Hopkins University. The clip begins with groups of women and children shouting at officers, who have formed a line. Moving forward, the police shift the partygoers away from the scene.

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A huge line of police officers were forced to disperse a little girl's birthday party in Los Angeles on Saturday

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Moving forward, the police manage to shift the partygoers away from the scene

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The LAPD were forced to disperse the child's birthday party as part of the state's crackdown on large gatherings to stem the infection rate of the coronavirus sweeping across the USAt one point a loud speaker is used to tell the crowds to disperse. Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti has assigned teams of city workers to ensure non-essential local businesses are complying with shut down orders. He is empowered to shut off their water and power if necessary, and the California Democrat has authorized the police to arrest those who continue to resist.Garcetti said there have been no shutoffs or arrests so far and predicts that '99 out of 100 will comply.'California is enlisting retired doctors and medical and nursing students to help treat an anticipated surge of coronavirus patients, the governor announced Monday.

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The community reportedly tried to justify their gathering by saying 'it's a kid's party'

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At some moments it looked like a riot was going to break out as the group refused to follow guidelinesThe California Health Corps effort comes as the nation's most populous state anticipates hospitals becoming overwhelmed with patients and while it is preparing stadiums and convention centers to handle a crush of cases. The announcement came as San Francisco and six surrounding counties said they would extend stay-at-home orders until May 1. Over the weekend, more people appeared to heed the message to stay home after beaches and many parks were closed by state and local officials following a swarm of visitors during the first weekend of the state's stay-at-home order.Still, people continued to crowd some of the open parks. On Sunday, the state expanded closures amid concerns people were not keeping a proper distance from one another. Parking lots at all state parks were closed, and the most popular places were closed to all activities.A surfer in Manhattan Beach south of Los Angeles was issued a citation that could carry at $1,000 fine for violating orders to stay off the beach.To help prepare for a wave of patients, National Guard troops set up beds in the sprawling Los Angeles Convention Center, converting it from a site that normally hosts meetings, trade shows and exhibitions into a field hospital.

PAN - There seems to be a "recommended" policy here of contacting your doctor and they will advise you as to what to do. At least that's how it's working in NY. I don't think there's an official national policy of any kind, but I'm not sure.

In Virginia, DC and Maryland there is no system in place to request testing other than to call your doctor (if you have one) and take your chances. Many doctors don’t have access to tests or will not write a prescription for one unless you have serious symptoms. Their availability here in the states right now is very haphazard. A complete contradiction to what Trump claims. My daughter tried to get a test over two weeks ago and she couldn’t get one. The only option she had was to go to an ER and be checked out.

GILBERT CARRASQUILLO/GC IMAGESCNN host Chris Cuomo says he has tested positive for coronavirus.“Sooooo in these difficult times that seem to get more difficult and complicated by the day, I just found out that I am positive for coronavirus,” he said in a statement posted to Twitter. “I have been exposed to people in recent days who have subsequently tested positive and I had fever, chills and shortness of breath.”Cuomo says he’s quarantined in his basement and will continue airing his CNN show, Cuomo Prime Time, from there.“I just hope I didn’t give it to the kids and Cristina,” Cuomo continued of his children and wife. “That would make me feel worse than this illness!”The CNN host has become a reliably entertaining interviewer since coronavirus coverage blanketed television news stations this month, with the virus virtually halting daily American life.

Most notably, Cuomo has gone viral for his charming interviews with his brother, New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo, throughout the pandemic.RELATED: What to Know About New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo as He Is Thrust Into Coronavirus Spotlight and Tussles with Trump

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Christopher C. Cuomo

@ChrisCuomo

43K11:32 AM - Mar 31, 2020Twitter Ads info and privacy

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The two brothers, who are the sons of former three-term New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, have jokingly bickered back and forth about family issues, like who abided by curfew as a kid and which brother would win in a basketball game.The moments have shown Gov. Cuomo taking a brief moment of breath in a time of crisis, as New York rapidly became the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak here in the United States.

“Thank you for coming back to the show,” Chris said in one recent segment.“Mom told me I had to,” his brother quipped back.RELATED: Chris Cuomo Playfully Bickers with Big Brother Andrew Cuomo on Live TV Again: ‘Learned from the Best’

There have been more than 163,000 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S., while more than 3,000 have died due to complications related to the virus, according to a New York Times tracker.CNN says that Cuomo was “most recently at CNN’s offices in the Hudson Yards neighborhood of New York City last Friday” and that the anchor’s diagnosis is the third positive case of the virus involving the CNN workspace in New York City.The network says employees were notified of another case in mid-March.Gov. Cuomo addressed the news that his brother tested positive for the virus during his daily press conference on Monday.“Everyone is subject to this virus,” the governor said. “It is the great equalizer. I don’t care how smart, how rich, how powerful you think you are. I don’t care how young, how old. My brother Chris is positive for coronavirus, we found out this morning. Now, he’s going to be fine. He’s young, in good shape, strong — not as strong as he thinks — but he will be fine.”

Chris Smalls, 31, organized the strike after working for Amazon for five yearsThe New York state attorney general has threatened to sue Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon for firing the worker who organized a walkout over conditions on Monday. Letitia James called Chris Smalls' dismissal 'disgraceful' and pointed out that the law protects employees' right to protest. Warehouse, delivery and retail gig workers in the United States went on strike on Monday and Tuesday to call attention to safety and wage concerns for people laboring through the coronavirus crisis. Unemployment in the United States hit a record high last week with 3.28million people - four times the previous record of 695,000 in October 1982 - making claims. Dow Jones say a further 2.65 million may join them this week. 'At a time when so many New Yorkers are struggling and are deeply concerned about their safety, this action was also immoral and inhumane,' she said in a statement.James said she was exploring options for legal recourse and had asked the National Labor Relations Board to investigate the incident. Father-of-three, Smalls, 31, a management assistant at the Staten Island facility, was laid off from his job following Monday's strike. He had worked for the company for five years.An estimated 50 to 60 employees joined the walkout at the New York facility demanding that it be shut down and cleaned after a worker tested positive for the coronavirus. Workers at Whole Foods, also owned by billionaire Bezos, are set to strike Tuesday, with a nationwide 'sick out' planned to bring attention to safety and wage concerns for people laboring through the coronavirus crisis. Bezos, the world's richest man, made $3.4billion selling shares of the company in February, just before the market tanked as coronavirus infections soared. General Electric workers have also staged their own silent protest - demanding that they now make the much needed ventilators in its jet engine factories. There are now more than 164,000 confirmed coronavirus cases across the nation; the death toll stands at 3,180.

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Amazon workers at Amazon's Staten Island warehouse went on strike to demand that the facility be shut down and cleaned after one staffer tested positive for the coronavirus

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Workers say the company 'has still not provided essential protections' during the coronavirus outbreak which has seen some workers become ill

[size=10][size=18]Amazon workers stage walkout in NY amid coronavirus

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AMAZON WORKERS WALK OUT IN PROTEST

Amazon warehouse workers walked off the job Monday demanding greater safeguards against the coronavirus. The one-day strikes had little impact on consumers, but the unrest called attention to mounting discontent among low-wage workers. They are on the front lines of the pandemic, serving the needs of those who can keep safe working from home.

WHOLE FOODS EMPLOYEES CALL IN 'SICK' TO STRIKE

Whole Worker, a workers group for Whole Foods employees, is calling for a nationwide 'sick out' on Tuesday.They want hazard pay, immediate shut down of stores if a worker tests positive and health care benefits for part-time and seasonal workers.

Fired Amazon worker Smalls told The New York Post: 'They pretty much retaliated against me for speaking out. I don't know how they sleep at night.' 'There are positive cases working in these buildings infecting thousands,' warehouse worker Smalls wrote on Twitter. Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, said it has taken 'extreme measures' to clean buildings and obtain safety gear and that 'the vast majority of employees continue to show up and do the heroic work of delivering for customers every day.' Less than half a percent of its more than 5,000-person workforce at the Staten Island site protested, it said.

INSTACART SHOPPERS DEMAND PROTECTIVE GEAR AND MORE PAY

A group called the Gig Workers Collective called for a nationwide walk-out Monday. They've been asking Instacart to provide workers with hazard pay and protective gear, among other demands. Instacart said Sunday it would soon provide workers with a new hand sanitizer upon request and outlined changes to its tip system. The group said the measures were too little too late.

GE WORKER DEMAND TO HELP MAKE VENTILATORS

General Electric workers are demanding that they now make the much needed ventilators in its jet engine factories. Workers at GE in Lynn, Massachusetts, held a silent protest, standing six feet apart, VICE reports. They joined employees at the headquarters in Boston calling on the company to make ventilators. CWA President Chris Shelton said: 'Our country depends on these highly skilled workers and now they’re wondering why they are facing layoffs instead of having the opportunity to use their unbelievable skills to help save lives.'

From delivery drivers to grocery store clerks, shelf stockers and fast-food employees, workers have kept food and essential goods flowing to people who have been told by their governments to stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus. A group calling itself 'Whole Worker' said it was seeking guaranteed paid leave for quarantined Whole Foods workers, among other things. Among the strikers Monday were some of the roughly 200,000 workers at online grocery delivery company Instacart, according to strike organizer Gig Workers Collective, founded earlier this year by Instacart worker Vanessa Bain. Workers at GE in Lynn, Massachusetts, held a silent protest, standing six feet apart, VICE reports. They joined employees at the headquarters in Boston calling on the company to make ventilators. General Electric has fired nearly 2,600 workers, along with further 'temporary' layoffs. The company said: 'GE is working around the clock to increase production of much-needed medical equipment. GE Healthcare has already doubled ventilator production capacity, with a plan to double it again by June, in addition to partnering with Ford Motor Company to further increase ventilator production.'It was not clear how many Instacart workers were participating in the strike.The San Francisco-based company - which lets customers place online orders from grocers, retailers like Costco Wholesale Corp and CVS Health Corp's CVS Pharmacy - said in a statement that the strike of its contractors had 'absolutely no impact to Instacart's operations.'On Monday, Instacart said it had 40 per cent more shoppers on the platform than on the same day last week and sold more groceries in the last 72 hours than ever before.In posts on social media, people who said they were Instacart workers demanded hazard pay to account for the dangers of working while most people stay home to comply with state, local and federal government guidance.They also asked for the company to provide hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and soap to clean their cell phones, cars and shopping carts. Amazon said fired Smalls made 'misleading' statements about conditions and that he was supposed to be in quarantine and had no choice but to fire him after he came to the facility.Smalls had even posted on Twitter how the company was not following social distancing measures.

Jeff Bezos made $3.4billion selling shares of the company in FebruaryAmazon staff say they are struggling to access sick pay and fear colleagues are coming to work ill - as they paint a grim picture of coronavirus protections inside warehouses where 'everything has been touched by 1,000 hands.'The online retail giant has increased pay and offered sick leave to anyone who has tested positive for coronavirus, but critics accuse the $1trillion company and owner Jeff Bezos of failing to do enough - just weeks after he pocketed $3.4billion by selling stock.Bezos, the world's richest man, made $3.4billion selling shares of the company in February, just before the market tanked as coronavirus infections soared.The sale saved Bezos a staggering $317million, compared to him keeping the stock through to March 20.It also meant the billionaire sold as much stock in that one week as he has in the last year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The sale accounted for around 3% of Bezos's total Amazon shares, and made up over a third of all stock exchange sales during this timeframe. Bezos has also suggested that Amazon may be the solution to getting 'easy-to-access' COVID-19 test kits to people across the world after conversations he had with administrators in the World Health Organization. In an Instagram post last week, the Amazon CEO shared that he had had a good call with WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom. The announcement comes as workers from facilities across the US have tested positive for coronavirus.'This isn't business as usual, and it's a time for great stress and uncertainty. It's also a moment in time when the work we're doing is its most critical,' the billionaire wrote in the memo shared on his Instagram. Bezos said: 'Across the world, people are feeling the economic effects of this crisis, and I'm sad to tell you I predict things are going to get worse before they get better.'

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Whole Foods employees outside of the store during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Springfield, Virginia, on Tuesday. Some Whole Foods employees are participating in a nationwide sick out asking for paid leave for all workers who stay home or self-quarantine, free coronavirus testing, and hazard pay for employees who show up to work during the pandemic

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A model A-E ventilator and a simple test lung, on display at a plant in Rawsonville, Michigan

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The New York state attorney general has threatened to sue Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon for firing the worker who organized a walkout over conditions on Monday

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Smalls had even posted on Twitter how the company was not following social distancing'Like all businesses grappling with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we are working hard to keep employees safe while serving communities and the most vulnerable,' Amazon said in a statement.'We have taken extreme measures to keep people safe.' The company said Amazon's firing of Small was due to his failure to comply with the company's request that he self-isolate after he came in contact with another employee who tested positive for COVID-19.By taking part in Monday's demonstration, he put 'the teams at risk. This is unacceptable,' Amazon said in a statement, noting that only 15 of the more than 5,000 employees at the site had taken part in the protest.

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Seven workers have fallen sick with the coronavirus at the Amazon plant in NYC

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The workers allege the online retail giant has mishandled its response to the pandemic and want the entire facility to be disinfected and sanitized

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Instacart, which shares the same complex as Amazon in Staten Island recently announced plans to hire some 300,000 people to help meet demand for grocery delivery, said in a statement it was 'fully operational' and that the walkout caused 'no impact.''We're continuing to see the highest customer demand in Instacart history and have more active shoppers on our platform today than ever before picking and delivering groceries for millions of consumers,' said the San Francisco company, which operates in some 5,500 cities in the US and Canada. The firm said Sunday it would provide additional health and safety supplies to full-service 'shoppers' and would set a 'default' tip based on customers' prior orders.The labor group, whose numbers were not known, called the Instacart moves 'a sick joke.'

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NYPD Community Affairs officer watches as Amazon workers at Amazon's Staten Island warehouse strike in demand that the facility be shut down and cleaned[size=18]Instacart joins Staten Island Amazon employees on mass walkout

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'We had been asking for hand sanitizer for many, many weeks. But apparently the company is capable of sourcing some with two days of work? Where was this before,' the group said in a Medium post. With much of the US population locked down, Americans are increasingly relying on delivery of food and other supplies from firms like Amazon.A report by NBC News said Amazon workers at two Southern California warehouses had presented demands to shut down the facilities for two weeks for sterilization while employees are tested for the virus.Amazon has announced plans to hire an additional 100,000 people in the US, while rival Walmart is seeking to expand its workforce by 150,000.

Coronavirus job losses could reach 47 MILLION as Macy's furloughs most of its 130,000 employees WITHOUT pay and companies continue to lay off workers Coronavirus job losses in the United States could hit 47 million, with unemployment at more than 30 per cent, according to stark new estimates by a Federal Reserve. The shocking prediction by the Fed's St. Louis district project came as Macy's announced it will furlough a majority of its 130,000 workers.The retail giant on Monday said it is transitioning to an 'absolute minimum workforce' needed to maintain basic operations. It says it will temporarily stop paying tens of thousands of employees who were thrown out of work when the chain closed its stores in response to collapsing sales during the pandemic.St. Louis Fed economist Miguel Faria-e-Castro said of the unemployment estimates: 'These are very large numbers by historical standards, but this is a rather unique shock that is unlike any other experienced by the U.S. economy in the last 100 years.'

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People wait in line for help with unemployment benefits at the One-Stop Career Center in Las Vegas. A record-high number of people applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs engulfed the U.S in the face of a near-total economic shutdown caused by coronavirusOnline operations for the country's largest department store chain won't be hit as hard.Employees who are enrolled in health benefits will continue to receive coverage with the company covering 100 per cent of the premium.Unemployment in the United States hit a record high last week with 3.28million people - four times the previous record - making claims. Dow Jones say a further 2.65 million may join them this week. The new estimates of 47 million unemployed do not account for the bailout bill signed by President Donald Trump last week, CNBC reports. It does also not account for those who leave the labor force.

This scares me more than the virus! Imagine if all these people walk out and don't come back to work for an extended period of time. They are a major part of our supply chain for food and other essentials.

My cousin manages a pet food store and told me yesterday that some of his orders haven't been delivered. One of the truckers told him that drivers are calling in sick because they don't want to come into NY. What happens if the truckers who supply our food decide to stay away?

[size=48]New York Man Hid Coronavirus Symptoms to Visit Wife in Hospital Maternity WardThe man admitted to concealing his symptoms when his wife began to show signs of the virus after giving birthBy Claudia HarmataMarch 31, 2020 01:53 PM[url=https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Fhealth%2Fnew-york-man-hid-coronavirus-symptoms-to-visit-wife-in-hospital-maternity-ward%2F%3Futm_source%3Dpinterest.com%26utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_campaign%3Dsocial-share-article%26utm_content%3D20200331%26utm_term%3Dundefined&media=https%3A%2F%2Fimagesvc.meredithcorp.io%2Fv3%2Fmm%2Fimage%3Furl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F20%2F2020%2F03%2F31%2Fstrong-memorial.jpg&description=New York Man Hid Coronavirus Symptoms to Visit Wife in Hospital Maternity Ward][/url]

ALAMYA New York man with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) hid his symptoms from hospital staff so that he would be allowed to visit his wife in the maternity ward.According to several reports, the man admitted to concealing his symptoms after his wife began to show signs of the virus shortly after giving birth. It is unclear whether either of the parents, or the newborn baby, have tested positive for the virus.The incident occurred last week at the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, which is part of the University of Rochester Medicine and Rochester Regional Health group.On Monday, UR Medicine announced they would now be implementing stricter measures on hospital visitors. Hospital staff will be screening all visitors allowed into Strong, Highland and three other affiliated hospitals with maternity services for symptoms, including taking their temperatures.

“In keeping with guidelines issued by the Monroe County Department of Public Health, UR Medicine hospitals have implemented a zero-visitation policy to further our efforts to protect patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19,” UR Medicine shared on their website, followed by a list of the limited exceptions, which includes one guardian for pediatric patients and one support person for obstetric patients.RELATED: New York-Presbyterian Hospitals Ban Partners in Delivery Room Due to Coronavirus OutbreakThey are also enforcing that all staff, patients and visitors wear medical masks while in public spaces in their facilities, according to the Democrat & Chronicle.UR Medicine first began banning most visitors from their hospitals two weeks ago, as several hospitals across New York do the same to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to highly vulnerable patients and their medical staff.

Some have been more extreme than others. Last week, New York-Presbyterian hospitals announced that they completely banned pregnant women from having partners in the delivery room.[/size]

“At this time, no visitors including birthing partners and support persons are permitted for obstetric patients,” the hospital said in a statement on March 23.“We understand that this will be difficult for our patients and their loved ones, but we believe that this is a necessary step to promote the safety of our new mothers and children.”Both medical groups and their hospitals reassured patients that staff would work with each family to “stay in touch via FaceTime, Skype, phone, and email.”RELATE: Ohio Clinics Ordered to Stop ‘Non-Essential’ Abortions During Coronavirus OutbreakEarlier this month, the New York State Department of Health released a statement advising all hospitals to suspend visitation effective immediately, with exceptions for family members or legal representatives of patients in immediate end-of-life situations.The department said that any visitors meeting these expectations should be screened for COVID-19 symptoms — cough, shortness of breath, or fever.As of Tuesday afternoon, March 31, there are 75,795 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state of New York, and 1,550 deaths.As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. To help provide doctors and nurses on the front lines with life-saving medical resources, donate to Direct Relief here.

[size=34]Is softly, softly Sweden heading for catastrophe? Alone in Europe, its schools, bars and restaurants are open as usual... in a maverick response to coronavirus. But now deaths are set to soar – and ministers are facing fury, writes PAUL CONNOLLY[/size]

Swedes really don't like to stand out. They much prefer to blend in. They even have their own word for it: 'Jantelagen', the Scandinavian answer to Australia and New Zealand's 'tall poppy syndrome'. It roughly translates as: 'Don't think you're better than anyone else.'And so it's quite understandable that its government's maverick response to the coronavirus crisis is making many in the country feel uneasy.After all, Sweden is the last major European country to have most of its schools, bars and restaurants still open.Yes, the government has asked people to work from home if possible, and those over 70 have been instructed to stay indoors, while visits to elderly care homes have been banned.But there have been no official lockdown directives – even though there have been more than 4,000 cases of infection and 180 deaths.

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It's quite understandable that the Swedish government's maverick response to the coronavirus crisis is making many in the country feel uneasy, writes Paul Connolly (Pictured: Locals in a bar in Stockholm last week)The only steps the Social Democratic-led coalition has taken is to close universities and higher education colleges, as well as to order restaurants and bars to serve people only at tables rather than at the crammed bar.There's also a ban on public gatherings. But with the limit set at 50 people, it's significantly more generous than other European countries, such as the UK, where the maximum is two.Indeed, Swedish children under the age of 16, including my six-year-old twins, are still going to school, while bars and restaurants are still relatively busy.

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ShareOn paper, Sweden appears to be surviving this virus. For example, it reported its first coronavirus-related death on March 11 – by which point there had been eight fatalities in the UK and 800 in Italy.And according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, there have been only 14 coronavirus-related deaths per million people in Sweden, far fewer than in Italy (192), Spain (157) and the UK (21).But relying on these statistics can be misleading. For while Sweden's death rate may appear strikingly low, that could be because it has succeeded only in delaying – rather than preventing – a fatal outbreak. Indeed, Sweden's current rate of infection is already relatively high. If you look at the number of reported cases per 100,000 of the Swedish population (39.6), it's greater than the UK's (33.. And so the Swedish government's strategy doesn't sit well with many citizens.

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Pictured: People walk at Strandvagen in Stockholm on March 28 amid the growing coronavirus crisis[size=18]Sweden keeps primary schools open despite coronavirus outbreak

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[/size][/size]After all, its neighbours Denmark, Finland, and Norway – all of which have fewer fatalities – introduced stringent lockdown measures, such as closing workplaces and schools, weeks ago.Just last week, more than 2,000 Swedish university researchers published a joint letter questioning the government's response.Professor Cecilia Soderberg-Naucler, a virus immunology researcher, said: 'We're not testing enough, we're not tracking, we're not isolating enough – we have let the virus loose. 'They are leading us to catastrophe.' Meanwhile, Fredrik Elgh, a virology professor at Umea University, recently told SVT News: 'I'd rather Stockholm was quarantined. We are almost the only country in the world not doing everything we can to curb the infection. This is bloody serious.'

Denmark bucks the trend and sets out its plan for returning to normal life

Denmark will become the first European country to set out a timetable for returning to normal life.Prime minister Mette Frederiksen said the country could begin returning to normality after Easter if deaths and infections continue on their 'stable and reasonable' trajectory.She said the virus has 'spread more slowly than feared' but also warned that it 'has not peaked yet' and 'many' will still die. When outlining the strategy of virus management while society returns to normal, she added: 'Can you do both things at once? Yes, you can... we have to do it gradually and staggered.'Miss Frederiksen hinted schools and offices would be the first to reopen, with employees working at different times. On March 11 Denmark was one of the first EU countries to begin a lockdown and has had 2,860 cases and 90 deaths.

When the affable, slightly dull, prime minister, Stefan Lofven, appeared on TV last week, many Swedes expected him to announce, at the very least, the closure of schools for children under 16. But no. Lofven merely asked Swedes to take responsibility for theirs and their loved ones' health.So why is Lofven and his government taking such a potentially dangerous approach?Part of the reason is to protect Sweden's economy. Thanks to the country's relatively late first case of infection, the government is well aware of the devastating economic impact that enacting an Italy-style lockdown would have on the country.But there is also one other key Swedish trait that may account for the country's more restrained attitude: the government trusts its citizens to do the right thing and follow experts' guidance.Sweden is still a very community-led nation, especially away from the cities. People firmly believe that community comes first, not the individual.In my village of Vastantrask, everyone mucks in and those who don't are soon cast out as pariahs. We even have a lawnmowing rota.Near my house there has been markedly less activity than usual. As my neighbour said: 'We don't need to be forced to help when our country needs us.'Of course, it also helps that Sweden still generally trusts its experts. During this crisis, Lofven has transparently ceded the floor to the public health authority and his state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, who, together, appear to have driven this approach.Meanwhile, despite disquiet in the country's scientific community, most Swedes seem to trust the government. In a recent poll published by daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet, just over half of Swedes said they thought their country's response to coronavirus had so far been 'well-balanced'.Tegnell and Lofven have not ruled out implementing stricter measures if the situation worsens.But in the meantime Sweden will continue to play an ambitious long game to protect its economy, citizens and society. And while the Swedes may not like being the centre of attention, if this risky strategy limits the loss of life and prevents the prolonged agony of a wrecked economy, they may well forgive the government for thrusting them into the global spotlight.[/size]

It's interesting that Sweden chose a different way to fight the virus. I saw a report on tv last night: restaurants and shops are crowded as usual (esp since spring hss arrived). People are told to keep distancing and the government said that they believe in people's self-control.It will be interesting to see the result. If Sweden has the same number of infected and dead patients, their economy will be much stronger and politicians and governments in other countries will be accused to have ruined their countries' economy. If they don't succeed...

By the way: It's actually quite difficult to compare the numbers of infected and dead patients since you have to mention lots of other factors:- the number of residents and also the area of the countries- the number of people being tested (if you don't test people, no one has the virus and people are dying from pneunomia)- if you automatically test dead people to the virus or not.

When Corona first came up, I thought it was just in China like Sars. When we had the first diagnosed patienrs in a Bavarian factory, infected by a Chinese lady who was there for a meeting, she showed symptoms when returning to China so the staff could be isolated and tested easily, and the virus didn't spread. But that was the moment when I realized how easy the virus spread but still thought that it wouldn't hit us that hard. I didn't think about people travelling, esp going skiing in the Alps and spreading the virus after their return.

My neighbor is from Sweden, she explained that the people are expected to do what is correct. That is their agreement with the government. So unlike here the people know to not have party's or congregate in groups. They are expected to take the proper precautions.

[size=34]BREAKING Florida governor Ron DeSantis finally issues a statewide lockdown after revealing coronavirus first started circulating in Miami in early February during the Super Bowl and state cases surge to 6,741[/size]

Cases of coronavirus in Florida have surged to nearly 7,000, with 857 people hospitalized and 85 dead

DeSantis had so far refused to initiate a statewide lockdown despite cases of coronavirus there spiking

The order will go into effect Thursday at midnight and will last 30 days, the Republican said Wednesday

Testing in the state at the time of Superbowl was only for those who had been to certain parts of China

The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Florida was a month later on March 1

The Super Bowl took place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens with 62,000 people in attendance

Florida is on track to become the next coronavirus epicenter in the US as the number of cases spike there

Florida governor Ron DeSantis issued a statewide lockdown Wednesday after revealing coronavirus first started circulating in Miami during the Super Bowl in early February. The Republican had so far refused to initiate a statewide lockdown despite cases of coronavirus there surging to nearly 7,000, with 857 people hospitalized and 85 dead. The order will go into effect Thursday at midnight and will last 30 days. But under increasing pressure DeSantis announced Wednesday: 'I'm going to be doing an executive order today directing all Floridians to limit movements and personal interactions outside the home to only those necessary to obtain or provide essential services or conduct essential activities.' The governor said officials cannot 'hamfist everyone into their bedroom' but urged people to act responsibly. He said he had consulted the White House of his decision. More than 30 others states had already issued such orders a week or more ago.He added: 'We're going to be in this for another 30 days. At this point, even though there's a lot of places in Florida that have very low infection rates, it makes sense to make this move now.' Florida is on track to become the next coronavirus epicenter in the US as the number of cases continue to spike. +10

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a news conference in the Hard Rock Stadium parking lot on March 30. He said coronavirus first started circulating in Miami during the Super Bowl ARCGIS Privacy Policy+10

) Fans celebrate in the stands at the Super Bowl LIV, in the Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida on February 2[size=10][size=18]Governor Ron DeSantis orders statewide lockdown in Florida

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[size=34]Is Florida the next epicenter of the coronavirus in the US?[/size]

Florida is on track to become the next coronavirus epicenter in the US as the number of cases continue to spike.Experts say with millions of Americans heading down to the Sunshine State to escape winter or for spring break - and drive-thru testing sites running out of kits - it could be a perfect storm for a rise in infections.What's more, nearly four million senior citizens live in Florida, a huge concern considering the elderly are the most vulnerable to contract the virus.The state is currently fifht in cases but health experts say both numbers are severely imported and are primed to increase.

Testing in the state at the time of Super Bowl was only for those who had been to certain parts of China and the first confirmed case was a month later on March 1. DeSantis admitted Tuesday: 'The numbers are pretty stark. I think this thing was circulating during the Super Bowl. Now, Miami's rate of cases is a lot higher than statewide.' The Super Bowl took place on February 2 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens with 62,000 people in attendance.The stadium has since become a drive-thru testing center. DeSantis had said Tuesday before issuing the lockdown: 'Everything's basically closed. It's not like there's anything to do.'You can go to work, but other than that there's just not a whole lot going on. People should just chill out and stay around the house as much as you can. 'That doesn't mean you can't go for a walk or get fresh air. It just means you shouldn't have big social gatherings.' He had already issued a stay-at-home order Monday for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and the Florida Keys, but later said he misspoke when he said it would be in effect until May 15. He said he meant April 15, despite President Donald Trump now saying social distancing guidelines will be in place until April 30, not Easter as he hoped. But under increasing federal and local pressure to abandon the county-by-county approach he had implemented DeSantis announced the statewide lockdown Wednesday.The Republican's announcement came hours after the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Jerome Adams, said on NBC's 'Today' show that he would tell DeSantis that the federal guidelines for social distancing should be viewed as 'a national stay-at-home order.'

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Health care workers test people at a coronavirus testing site setup by the the Florida National Guard in the parking lot of the Hard Rock stadium on March 30, 2020 in Miami Gardens+10

Health care workers test people at a coronavirus testing site setup by the the Florida National Guard in the parking lot of the Hard Rock stadium on March 30, 2020 in Miami Gardens

DeSantis has also ordered anyone arriving from the New York area and Louisiana into quarantine and issued some statewide measures such as closing bars and gyms and limiting restaurants to takeout and delivery. Several counties in the Tampa Bay area and central Florida had already issued their own lockdown orders.Experts say with millions of Americans heading down to the Sunshine State to escape winter or for spring break - and drive-thru testing sites running out of kits - it could be a perfect storm for a rise in infections. Florida's congressional Democrats on Tuesday blasted Gov. DeSantis' for his refusal to issue a statewide stay-at-home order to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Democrats said the Republican governor must drop his county-by-county approach and follow other hard-hit states by closing all non-essential businesses and ordering people to stay home except for buying food or medicine, visiting a doctor or going to an essential job. DeSantis had been defending his county-by-county approach, saying it wouldn't be fair to lock down the small, mostly rural counties with no or few confirmed infections. +10

Cece Guida, 19, right, of New York City, pushes on Sam Reddick, 20, of Evansville, Ind., as spring break revelers flocked to Pompano Beach in Florida on March 17 +10

Linda Bodell takes in some sun on the walkway leading to the beach on March 31, 2020 in Hollywood, Florida. The City of Hollywood along with other cities along the coastline have shuttered their beaches in an attempt to contain COVID-19.+10

Beach access is closed off for public access due to Covid-19, on Sunday, March 29, 2020 in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.While there is no shelter in place order for the entire state of Florida, counties and cities are making that decision on their own.+10

Counties in the Tampa Bay area and central Florida issued their own lockdown orders, and Jacksonville announced Wednesday that it would join them on Friday. A University of Washington model is projecting that Florida could see a rapid increase in deaths and hospitalizations, with 100 people dying daily by mid-April and more than 175 by May 1, when the number nears its peak. It predicts that 10,000 people will need hospital care by mid-month and 20,000 on May 1. The model predicts that more than 6,500 Floridians will die from the virus by June 1, among more than 90,000 deaths nationally.DeSantis did not dispute those numbers when asked.'This thing is really nasty,' DeSantis said. 'It's something that's caused a lot of harm to a lot of people.'

Coast Guard orders ALL cruise ships to remain at sea including two Holland America vessels with 190 passengers suffering coronavirus symptomsThe US Coast Guard has directed all cruise ships to remain at sea as two Holland America cruise liners approach Florida.Federal, state and local officials have been negotiating over whether the Zaandam and Rotterdam would be allowed to dock at Port Everglades later this week.Two of four deaths on the Zaandam were blamed on COVID-19 and nine people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the company said.At least 190 more reported symptoms. More than 300 Americans are on Zaandam and Rotterdam. +10

Passengers board a lifeboat from Holland America Line cruise ship MS Zaandam to be transported to her sister ship Rotterdam (R) on Panama Bay, Panama[url=https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8176707/Privacy Statement]John Hopkins University & Medicine Privacy Policy[/url]Holland America said the Rotterdam took on nearly 1,400 people who appear to be healthy from its sister ship, leaving 450 guests and 602 crew members on the Zaandam.Florida Gov Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that the state's healthcare system is stretched too thin to take on the Zaandam's coronavirus caseload. 'Just to drop people off at the place where we're having the highest number of cases right now just doesn't make a whole lot of sense,' DeSantis said.But President Donald Trump has said that he would speak with his fellow Republican about the situation.'They're dying on the ship,' Trump said. 'I'm going to do what's right. Not only for us, but for humanity.'

Volunteer becomes second person to die from coronavirus after attending the week-long Miami Beach Winter Party blamed for spreading the illness+10

Ron Rich, described as a 'loyal volunteer' for The National LGBTQ Task Force, passed away over the weekend after attending the LGBTQ festival in MarchA second person who attended a now infamous Miami Beach festival has died of contracting the coronavirus.Several other party-goers have reported that they are suffering from flu-like symptoms, reiterating the importance of social distancing during the pandemic.Ron Rich, described as a 'loyal volunteer' for The National LGBTQ Task Force, passed away over the weekend after attending the LGBTQ festival in March.In a Facebook post in which the the Task Force announced the death of Rich, he was described as a 'familiar face to the guests who attended the Task Force Gala, Winter Party Festival and our Fort Lauderdale house parties over the past five years as his big smile and warmth had him mostly serving on our hospitality team. 'Ron also volunteered with the Outshine Film Festival and Lambda Legal,' the post said. 'He will be missed. We extend our condolences to his family and friends.'A friend of Rich, Vin Kruger, who described him as his best friend and 'security blanket' said: ''They're putting me on a ventilator' was the last thing he wrote me, and that was Friday morning.'The Winter Party Festival in South Beach, an LGBTQ festival that took place in early March, has now been linked to two deaths and a number of cases.The week-long 'circuit party' which was held at multiple locations throughout the city, including the beach, from 4 March - 10 March is feared to have spread the virus further at a time when events had yet to be cancelled and social gatherings weren't restricted.Since the festival, other scenes at Miami beaches showing college age spring-breakers have been captured, increasing fears that people who went to Miami for such events have spread the virus across the country after heading home.Measures have now been brought in to restrict such gatherings in Miami and other states in the U.S. One person, a 35-year-old Seattle resident, spoke anonymously to the Miami Herald, said that four of his friends also attended positive after they attended the festival.'I think given the atmosphere and the parties, and people packed in as tight as they were, I think it's bound to be more,' he said. 'Nobody was talking about it, nobody was concerned about it because nobody had it.'Organizers of the festival have faced criticism for allowing an event to go ahead during a global pandemic. However, the federal government was yet to place restrictions on large gatherings. Rich becomes the second person to have died after attending the party. Isreal Carrera, 40, died last Thursday, also attended the party and developed symptoms of the coronavirus.He was described as energetic and had adopted a healthy lifestyle while living in Miami, making his death more surprised for those who knew him.

Vice President Mike Pence's coronavirus taskforce is now looking at the process in which the United States Agency for International Development sends medical supplies to other countries to combat the coronavirus. Politico reported Wednesday that a Trump administration official tried last week to obtain protective gear for American doctors and nurses from Thailand - only to be told that a shipment of the same supplies was en route to Bankgkok from the United States. That mix-up prompted Pence's taskforce to look into USAID's deliveries of personal protective equipment and place a moratorium on new shipments from USAID's stockpile being sent overseas, Politico wrote.

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Vice President Mike Pence 's coronavirus taskforce is now looking at the process in which USAID sends medical supplies to other countries to combat the coronavirus

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Pence, photographed on a tour of a Walmart Distribution Center Wednesday, has paused shipments of medical equipment overseas, while the coronavirus taskforce reviews the process used by USAID

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Chinese goods wait in a warehouse to be sent to South Korea. One concern about the stalled medical equipment is that China will overtake the U.S. as a global leader USAID keeps a stockpile of medical protective equipment in warehouses in Dubai and Miami, Florida. The review has frozen already-approved PPE deliveries to 13 countries, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Honduras and the Philippines. And American officials haven't been told by the administration how to explain the hold-up to other countries, Politico said. It's a balancing act for the Trump administration, which needs to ensure American nurses and doctors have the PPE they need to combat the coronavirus domestically. Anecdotally, medical professionals from all around the country are reporting shortages of masks, gloves and other necessary protective ware. The administration has already been criticized for sending 17.8 tons of medical supplies to China to help with that country's coronavirus outbreak in February, when the first case in the U.S. was reported in January.

Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat and frequent Trump critic, tweeted Monday, 'Trump, you incompetent idiot! You sent 18 tons of PPE to China early but ignored warnings & called COVID19 concerns a hoax.''You've endangered doctors, nurses, aids, orderlies, & janitors - all risking their lives to save ours,' Waters wrote. 'Pray 4 forgiveness for the harm that you're causing!'Administration officials pushed back, Politico said, by noting that the supplies for China came from private donations and not the Strategic Stockpile. And officials are concerned that by not helping American allies during the pandemic, the U.S. could lose its footing to China as the global leader. This week it was China that sent a shipment of much-needed medical equipment to New York City's John F. Kennedy airport. President Trump pledged on Monday to help other countries in need - telling reporters in the Rose Garden that he would send $100 million in aid to Italy and once more medical equipment was being manufactured domestically would send offshoots to Italy, France and Spain. [size=18]Trump tells Americans to prepare for 'a tough couple of weeks'

One of my collegues' daughter is stuck in New Zealand where she had planned to work on a farm until June. Now the government told all non-permanent residents to leave New Zealand. So my collegue booked her on an Emirates flight via Dubai which was cancelled because the airline doesn't fly to Europe at the moment. So she booked her daughter on an evacuation flight by our government which is trying to evacuate Germans who are stranded around the globe and can't get a flight home. Most of them have already returned, but not from New Zealand. So the girl is waiting at the farm to be told when to catch a flight. The government of New Zealand has also cancelled all public transport (which is a 3 hours tour), so she can't get from the farm to Auckland by bus. And since most hotels and hostels in Auckland have closed as well, she would probably be stranded if she went to Auckland now.Quite a tricky siauation for a young woman of 18...

Carol, your friend’s daughter must be so stressed and scared at this point. There are still thousands of Americans who are trying to get home from abroad but are stuck because of lack of flights and closed borders. Our State Department has gotten some out but because our federal government has completely failed in handling this crisis it’s no surprise that the department has no real plan to get these people home. In some instances I’m sure some of these Americans should never have flown out of the country when this pandemic was just arriving in the U.S.

Donna,I've watched and read interviews who went somewhere on holidays just two weeks ago and said that there was no global travel warning from our Foreign Office so they went. A travel warning means that you get back your money, so they chose to go. In some point I understand it: People sometimes saved their money for years to get to the travel destination of their dreams, paid a lot of money for it and would lose all of it now. On the other hand it means that they are risking their lifes - and other one's lifes as well. Last night, there was a report on tv about Germand who are still stranded somewhere, most of them said that they only want to get home, and then there was a couple in Turkey saying that they don't want to return. "We've got such an amazing hotel, we've come here for 25 years, and even though the pools and spas are closed, we can still play tennis and enjoy the sun." And I thought: "Yes, and if you should get sick, you'd expect everyone to look after you, to treat you in hospital (meaning that locals might not get any treatment), and if you don't like it there, you'll expect our government to fly you back to Germany."

I've read an interview with a local family who was on a safari in South Africa. Then their friends informed them about the outbreak in Europe and Africa, and suddenly their tour guides left them in a lodge and also took the busses, xo they had to organize everything on their own, had to find out what to do, had to get a taxi to get to the next city with an airport, try to get a flight home which was cancelled, worried about their safety because some locals thought the virus was brought in by the whote tourists and were finally takrn back on a rescue flight byour government.

Our own holiday destinations at the North Sea and Baltic Sea, esp the islands, closed for tourists because they said that they don't have the medical capacity for an outbreak. There are islands without a hospital, and those with hospitals have the capacity for the illness of their own residents - in normal times. Plus, of course, they fear the virus brought in by tourists.We've cancelled a few weekend trips and had already paid for some of them, so will lose some money as well. But there's no alternative IMO.

My cousin was planning to take a year to travel to all the places her husband wanted to see before he passed away. She saved up until she could afford to go and was set to leave in late February. Thanks to the virus she's still here. She had to cancel her plans and now isn't sure when - or if - she'll ever make the trip.

I know a lot of people are in dire circumstances and being able to take a trip like that is a luxury, but I still feel sorry for her having to put her plans on hold indefinitely. It would have done a lot to help her heal.

Paramedics in New York City have been told to stop taking certain patients in cardiac arrest to hospitals already swamped with coronavirus cases. The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York has told medics to leave heart attack sufferers who cannot be revived at the scene with immediate effect. One anonymous EMT told The New York Post: 'They're trying to do what they can with the people who have the most likely chance of being saved.'The coronavirus outbreak has already pushed the city's ambulance service close to the breaking point, with 20 per cent of its workers already out sick. Those in cardiac arrest would normally be taken to hospital. But a source told The Post: 'If you can't get revived on scene, that's it. They're going to work on you, but if they can't get a pulse back, they won't transport you.'

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EMTs load a bed into an ambulance outside the Brookdale Hospital Medical Center. in Brooklyn. Paramedics in New York City have been told to stop taking certain patients in cardiac arrest to hospitals already swamped with coronavirus cases

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The COVID-19 death toll in New York City is now 1,374 with 47,439 confirmed cases

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The COVID-19 death toll in New York City is now 1,374 with 47,439 confirmed casesThe letter sent to emergency workers instructs them to try and resuscitate patients as usual. But adds: 'No adult non-traumatic or blunt traumatic cardiac arrest is to be transported to a hospital with manual or mechanical compression in progress without either return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) or a direct order from a medical control physician unless there is imminent physical danger to the EMS provider on the scene.'It adds: 'In the event a resuscitation is terminated, and the body is in public view, the body can be left in the custody of the NYPD.'Health officials used forklifts to help lift dead bodies onto a refrigerated truck outside New York's Brooklyn Hospital Center this week and hospitals have been using bed sheets to wrap bodies because they no longer have body bags.The COVID-19 death toll in New York City is now 1,374 with 47,439 confirmed cases. New deaths in the US rose by 1,047 to 5,139 by the end of Wednesday and new infections surged by 26,866 to 216,553. The Pentagon is ordering 100,000 body bags as experts predict the coronavirus will claim the lives of more than 200,000 Americans.The US death toll, which stands at 5,139, has now surpassed the number of deaths reported in China (3,309) where the outbreak first emerged back in December.

Some 20 per cent of the 4,500 ambulance workers - EMTs, paramedics and supervisors - are out sick, said Dr. Lewis Marshall, board chairman of the New York City Regional Emergency Medical Services Council in an interview last week. Most of them are out of action because they either have the virus or have been exposed to it, he added.EMS lieutenant Vincent Variale, who also heads a supervisors' union, said, 'We've broken every call volume record we've ever seen before.' At times in recent days, up to 400 calls at a time deemed less serious had simply been left on hold, Variale said.

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A medical worker prepares to reenter a COVID-19 testing tent set up outside Elmhurst Hospital Center in New York. The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York has told medics to leave heart attack sufferers who cannot be revived at the scene

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The number of EMS personnel out sick is increasing and may soon reach 30 per cent, multiple EMS officials said, which would lead to a serious decline in ambulance services. The city's ambulance service is part of the New York City Fire Department. Two workers told Reuters that ambulance personnel who remain on the job are working 16 or 17-hour days.'We don't even have time to go to the bathroom,' said one emergency medical technician in Harlem while running to meet a call.Variale predicted dire consequences if calls for help continue to soar and the number of emergency personnel continues to drop from illness. 'If this continues we fully expect to have bodies on the street,' he said.

Gov. Cuomo said there are a lot of volunteers coming in from out of state. Maybe some of them will be deployed to help the EMTs. They can certainly use the help. We hear ambulances flying past day and night.

[size=34]Russia sends 60 TONS of medical supplies to the US after Vladimir Putin offers to assist during phone call with Donald Trump - but critics say it is a propaganda gift TO the Kremlin[/size]

The supplies landed at JFK Airport Wednesday after Trump and Putin finalized a deal Monday night amid the coronavirus pandemic

The move has been blasted by many in the US, who claim the President has ignored Russian's potentially nefarious motivations for the deal

Meanwhile, critics of the Kremlin in Russia have criticized the fact that medical supplies are being shipped abroad as their own COVID-19 outbreak worsens

Russia has reported 2,337 coronavirus cases with 17 deaths; the US has more than 215,000 cases and 4000 deaths

By EMILY GOODIN, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ANDREW COURT FOR DAILYMAIL.COMPUBLISHED: 08:45 EDT, 2 April 2020 | UPDATED: 12:37 EDT, 2 April 2020

Russia sent 60 tons of medical supplies to the United States to help combat the coronavirus after Russian President Vladimir Putin offered them to President Donald Trump when the two spoke on Monday, a senior administration official told DailyMail.comThe supplies landed at John F. Kennedy airport in New York on Wednesday and were criticized on both sides of the Atlantic. American officials questioned Putin's motives in making the offer and Russian health officials described their own needs for such equipment. Putin made the offer of help to Trump, who accepted it. 'President Putin offered President Trump during their conversation Monday,' a senior Administration official told DailyMail.com.'As an act of goodwill, yesterday, Russia delivered a planeload of equipment and supplies at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. Likewise, the United States is sending equipment and supplies to many other countries, and will continue to do more as we are able,' the official said. The cargo plane carried 60 tons of ventilators, masks, respirators and protective equipment at a time when the United States is struggling to meet the demands of health care workers who are on the frontline.'Russia sent us a very, very large planeload of things, medical equipment, which was very nice,' President Trump told reporters at the White House Monday during his daily press briefing. +7

Russia sent 60 tons of medical supplies to the U.S. following a phone conversation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump+7

The shipment includes much-needed ventilators, respirators, masks and other personal protective equipment +7

A cargo plane carrying boxes full of protective gear and ventilators touched down at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York Wednesday, two days after the world leaders discussed the deal on the phone[size=10][size=18]Russia sends plane filled with medical supplies to the US

L[/size][/size]Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that the U.S. paid for the supplies, but did not disclose the amount. But the assistance from Russia was also met with criticism from some American diplomats, who asked whether President Trump is ignoring Putin's motivation in sending the supplies. Russia is under U.S. sanctions for its interference in the 2016 presidential election and its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.'Nothing to see here. Just a Russian military aircraft landing at JFK with 60 tons of medical supplies to support America's #COVID19 response. A propaganda bonanza as our own government shrinks from America's leadership role in a global crisis,' Brett McGurk, a former diplomat for Trump and former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, wrote on Twitter. Ben Hodges, a former commanding general of the U.S. Army in Europe, said on Twitter 'it's a gift TO the Kremlin, not FROM it.' And Andrew Weiss, a Russia analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, simply tweeted of the supplies: 'This is nuts.'State Department Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Wednesday the equipment would be carefully examined to make sure it met the quality requirements of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.She thanked Moscow for sending the supplies - and for putting aside frosty geopolitical relations to help for the greater good.'We are a generous and reliable contributor to crisis response and humanitarian action across the world, but we cannot do it alone,' Ortagus stated. 'Both countries have provided humanitarian assistance to each other in times of crisis in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future. This is a time to work together to overcome a common enemy that threatens the lives of all of us.'+7

The plane is pictured after touchdown at JFK Airport in New York Wednesday+7

Critics have blasted the move, claiming President Trump has ignored Russian's potentially nefarious motivations for sending the supplies. Putin and Trump are pictured in 2019+7

Russia also sent supplies to Italy in boxes labeled 'From Russia with Love'Meanwhile, the Kremlin called the supplies 'aid' - despite being paid by the U.S. to send them. 'Trump gratefully accepted this humanitarian aid,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited as saying by the Interfax news agency on Tuesday. 'It is important to note that when offering assistance to U.S. colleagues, the president (Putin) assumes that when U.S. manufacturers of medical equipment and materials gain momentum, they will also be able to reciprocate if necessary,' he said. The shipment has sparked outcry in Russia, as well as in the U.S. Many Russians have accused the Kremlin of orchestrating a 'publicity stunt' when their own doctors and nurses need personal protective equipment to deal with their own COVID-19 cases. 'Russia has actually sold the United States masks and medical equipment when doctors and nurses across the country are left without masks and are infecting one another,' prominent opposition politician Alexei Navalny wrote on Twitter.'It's monstrous. Putin is crazy.'Doctors at a hospital in the Moscow region told the Novaya Gazeta newspaper they had been asked to sew their own masks.The Alliance of Doctors, a trade union for medical workers which is often critical of the authorities, said it had been collecting money across Russia to buy protective gear for doctors and was distraught to see the country now shipping the same equipment to the United States.'It's just making a mockery of everything,' the trade union wrote on Twitter.Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Twitter: 'At the moment we have resources that can be allocated to support other countries who suffer most from the coronavirus. The possibility that we would also need help from abroad can't be ruled out. We have friends who are ready to help us.'The United States is not the first country to receive Russian aid to fight the pandemic.Earlier this month Moscow sent 15 planeloads of medical equipment and medical personal to Italy, in boxes labeled 'From Russia with love.' In Russia, the official tally is 2,337 coronavirus cases with 17 deaths, although the accuracy of that data has come into question.Putin, meanwhile, is working in isolation after shaking hands with a Russian doctor who has tested positive for the disease. The U.S. has reported more than 215,000 cases and more than 5,000 deaths.+7

Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured wearing a protective suit enters a hall during his visit to the hospital for coronavirus patients outside Moscow last week

He and drumpf are two of a kind . Never pass up a chance to do something you think makes you look good. I'm sure the people of Russia are thrilled to know they're helping the rest of the world while they're left to suffer.